Cars and Guns

What kind of car owner are you? Just like with gun owners, there are different types... and there are a lot of similarities between the two.

Let's see if we can categorize your typical car owners, then we’ll do the same thing with gun owners:

Cars and Guns

1. Non Car Owner - These are people that either don’t need a car due to where they live, can’t own a car because of past irresponsible behavior (DUIs, etc.) or someone that just thinks cars are bad for society and the environment and gets along without one.

2. Basic Owner - Many people consider cars to be just basic transportation and don't put much thought into them other than occasional maintenance. They have a vehicle to take them from point A to point B and as long as it works they are happy. They don’t really car what it looks like or sometimes even how clean it is.

3. Pride in Ownership - Other people like owning a certain type of car and feel a sense of status or pride from it. They keep it clean (sometimes meticulously) and make sure it is maintained regularly at the dealership. They don’t mind showing it off but also don’t really do much else to it.

4. Enthusiast - Some folks want to know everything there is about their vehicle. They research it online, join forums and clubs and talk about their car - a lot. They know all the stats and the history of the model. They probably have even have made some modifications such as off-road or performance related mods.

5. Collector - This last tier is someone that takes their enthusiasm to the next level. This is someone that knows everything there is to know about their vehicle and probably can take it apart and put it back together again. They may have a rare version of the car or multiple copies. They are likely seen at car shows and know other people with the same car so they can talk shop.

Hopefully as a car owner, you fall into one of those categories and I didn’t miss any thing. Now let’s translate that over to gun ownership:

1. Non Gun Owner - Someone that doesn’t see the need for a gun themselves, someone that is legally barred from owning a gun, or someone that thinks they are bad for society so nobody should own one.

2. Basic Owner - Someone that owns one or maybe two guns at most. They can shoot it and work the controls but that is about it. They don’t really know much about it other than what caliber to buy and how to pull the trigger.

3. Intermediate Owner - I would change the “Pride in Ownership” from the car example to an “Intermediate Owner” as they relate to guns. This is still someone that just has 2-3 guns like a Basic Owner but they have practiced with them and know them really well. They probably took a class from a quality instructor and can clear malfunctions, load from a mag pouch, and operate it effectively. They still might not know a lot about ammunition other than the difference between practice ammo and self defense, but that is okay. In my opinion, this is the basic level of ownership every gun owner should strive for.

4. Advanced Owner - This is someone that probably owns quite a few guns and knows at least a handful of them inside and out. They can take them apart for cleaning and minor gunsmithing work (ie: replacing triggers). They have modded guns with lights and red dots. This person has taken a few classes to better learn how to handle their firearms. They join online forums and know obscure details about their gun such as the effects of different gas port distances and barrel lengths on their AR, for example. They have probably chronographed their ammo and know different hold overs for various distances - even with a handgun. The advanced owner is similar to a car enthusiast will gladly talk your ear off about their favorite guns.

5. Collector - We all know what a gun collector looks like. These are the guys that know every detail about a certain era of guns. They probably have a dozen of the same thing with minor variations. Or they are just someone that “collects” a lot of guns of different types. They don’t shoot them very often, if at all, but they know a lot about them. They are the guys you see at your local gun show willing to talk for 30 minutes about one particular part on one particular gun. They also know all the guys with the same guns so they can talk shop.

So as you can see, there are a lot of similarities between the various categories of car and gun owners. It is good to recognize where you are on the scale and where you want to be. If they are the same place then perfect! If not then you have some work to do.  

Let's continue this analogy because there are important similarities and differences between gasoline and ammunition, the respective "fuel" for each of the above platforms.

Gasoline and Ammunition

There is no denying that ammunition is fuel for your gun just like gasoline (or diesel) is fuel for your vehicle. Your car won’t run without fuel and your gun won’t work without ammunition. That is important to recognize.

But there is one huge difference between ammunition and gasoline. Are you able to stockpile gasoline for future use? Nope. Not really. Personally, besides a couple of 5 gal containers of ethanol-free gasoline I keep for the lawn mower, I don’t have much fuel stored, nor for that matter do I have a good way of storing it.

I have no way to pre-pay my gasoline when prices are low and have someone else store it for me either. I can’t lock in a price today and get access to my gasoline in the future. I can't put dollars into a "gasoline" backed asset account either.

Honestly, if that sort of service existed I'm sure MOST of us would take advantage of it. I know I would sign up in a heartbeat. I'd gladly lock in the price of something as important as gasoline when the prices are low - imagine if we all had done that in 2020 when the average gallon of gas cost just $1.91 on average!

Now I’m sure there are maybe 1 in a 1000 people reading this that do have a diesel storage tank on their property for farm equipment so they can do it, but for the vast majority of us pre-buying and stockpiling fuel is just not an option.

While you can’t pre-buy a year’s worth of gasoline when prices are low, you CAN pre-buy your ammunition. You can’t have someone store your accumulated gasoline for you and deliver fresh gasoline when you want it (which would be good because ethanol based gasoline only lasts about 3 months, pure gasoline lasts 6-12 months, and treated gas lasts 1-3 years.), you CAN have someone store your accumulated ammunition for you, rotate it regularly, and then deliver fresh ammo when needed.

Sure, like gasoline, if there is a SHTF scenario and we’re all fighting over tuna cans then all bets are off and you will not likely be getting a delivery from us with more ammo. However for 99.98% of the rest of the time (ie: normal life) the benefits of pre-buying ammunition when it is available (and cheap!) and storing it off site as a hedge against shortages and inflation outweigh the possibility you won’t have access to 100% of your ammo in the case of societal collapse. Have enough on hand for SHTF but consider the excess a tangible asset and part of your wealth not stored in a dusty garage or depreciating dollars.

Diversification is the key here, store enough at home for your expected needs and stockpile some offsite. Ideally with us or a company like ours so you can take advantage of the benefits such as exchanging between calibers, selling it quickly to get the cash, rotating inventory so it is always fresh, sending to others electronically for payments, etc.

When you think about it, gun ownership is a lot like car ownership and ammunition is fuel for your gun. Make smart decisions in both areas and you'll never be left high and dry.

AmmoSquared Inc. has revolutionized ammunition with the new Ammo² Wallet: an ammunition bank account backed with physical ammunition. Ammunition is stored in a climate controlled environment and managed by the customer online 24/7 until physical delivery is requested. Ammunition can be bought, sold, exchanged, or even transferred to other people with just the click of a button. To learn how you can start stacking ammunition effortlessly, visit ammosquared.com today!